This study explored issues surrounding the validity of Pennsylvanias Alternate System of Assessment (PASA) for students with visual impairments. The PASA is a performance-based assessment that assesses a sub-set of math and reading skills delineated by the States alternate standards. Data from 286 students with visual impairments who took the 2005 Level A PASA at grades 3/4 or 7/8 were analyzed. Descriptive and statistical analyses compared achievement on the PASA between three groups of students with visual impairments at different levels of functional vision as well as to a matched group of peers without visual impairments. The latter comparison investigated differential item functioning (DIF) on each individual test item using the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test. In addition, types of accommodations made for students with visual impairments to provide access to the assessment and potential factors contributing to test bias were documented. Overall, the study confirmed expected patterns of accommodation selection by functional vision level with layout/set-up accommodations being the most frequently used. It also revealed a set of test items flagged for DIF statistically that did not always coincide with the test items judgmental reviewers would expect to be problematic or different for students with visual impairments. Among the three functional levels and the students with visual impairments as a whole, 29 instances of DIF in which a test item may have been potentially harder were found. In addition, there were 12 instances where a test item may have potentially been easier. A qualitative logical analysis highlighted a variety of variables that interact with the decision-making process to pinpoint potential reasons for the presence of DIF. Under-accommodation, the frequency of lucky guesses, score change patterns, and experience level with content were all factors suspected of contributing to performance on different types of test items. Discussion of these variables as well as interesting patterns in accommodation selection or the absence of accommodation selection is included. Challenges of and recommendations for adapting the PASA for students with visual impairments are provided as well as general discussion regarding aspects of assessing this population of students.

This study investigated the extent to and ways in which attention to students mathematical thinking was evident in the written lesson plans or lesson planning process of ten pre-service secondary mathematics teachers at various points during their teacher education program: prior to and immediately after participation in a course (the Teaching Lab) that emphasized students mathematical thinking as a key element of planning, during teachers first semester of their field experience as they planned lessons in their actual practice of teaching, and near the end of the first semester of their field experience as they planned lessons on demand and for university assignments. With respect to learning from the Teaching Lab, the study shows that the teachers demonstrated significant growth on pre to post course measures in their ability to attend to students thinking when planning a lesson on demand and for a university assignment. Furthermore, teachers continued to be able to apply these ideas when planning on demand and for university assignments several months later. When investigating whether or not teachers would apply the ideas they had learned when planning in their own practice, the study suggests three findings. First, teachers attention to students thinking when planning lessons that used tasks with a high level of cognitive demand was not significantly different from their planning for a lesson on demand or the lesson plan they produced for the Teaching Lab assignment. Furthermore, teachers were more likely to attend to students thinking when planning a lesson that used a high-level task compared to a lesson that used a low-level task. Second, for some teachers, written lesson plans significantly under-represented their attention to students thinking in their planning process. Finally, the study suggests that support from the mentor teacher and/or university supervisor may be an important factor in determining whether or not the teacher applies their knowledge of attention to students thinking to their planning in practice.

The purpose of this study was to describe the instructional practices of two pre-service secondary mathematics teachers, Paige Morris and Keith Nichols, during their internship experiences. Specifically, the study aimed to examine the cognitive demands of the tasks as selected and enacted by the pre-service teachers, the mathematical representations used during the lesson, and the questions asked by each pre-service teacher. Additionally, the study aimed to describe the ways in which the contextual settings, particularly the curriculum and mentor, appeared to influence the instructional practices of the pre-service teachers as they planned for and enacted mathematics lessons in their field placements. The analysis of the data indicated that the instructional practices of the pre-service teachers were quite different. Keith planned for and enacted more high-level tasks than did Paige. While both Paige and Keith provided their respective students with opportunities to consider multiple representations of a mathematical idea, the use of the representations differed. Paige focused on procedural aspects of making connections between representations, whereas Keith used the representations as a way for the students to build meaning of the mathematical concepts. Additionally, Keith asked more questions that provided the students with opportunities to think and reason about the mathematics as well as to make meaningful connections between representations. An analysis of the contextual settings in which Paige and Keith worked point to key differences in the opportunities that Paige and Keith had during their field experience to learn about student-centered instructional practices. Two specific areas that were targeted in this study were the curriculum and the mentor. A review of the data indicated that the curriculum used in field experience and the mentoring that Paige and Keith received from their mentor teachers and university supervisors appeared to affect aspects of their practice. That is, Keith was greatly influenced by his use of a reform-oriented curriculum, whereas Paige did not have access to such a curriculum. Additionally, Keiths mentors consistently used specific instances form the lesson as a means to identify key areas for Keith to focus on improving. In contrast, Paige typically received feedback that was broad and general.

The study described in this document made use of quantitative and qualitative methodology to examine factors contributing to mathematical ability in young deaf children. Specifically, this study examined the relationship between relative level of mathematical ability and an understanding of basic concepts (i.e., color, letters, numbers/counting, sizes, comparisons, shapes, direction/position, self-social awareness, texture/material, quantity, time/sequence); and mediation techniques used by families (i.e., Feurstein's dimensions of Intentionality/Reciprocity, Transcendence, and Meaning). Data were collected using: standardized tests (i.e., the Test of Early Mathematics Ability-3 and the Bracken Basic Concept Scale-Revised); structured early mathematics activities; and naturalistic observation. Based on scores from the Test of Early Mathematics Ability-3, sub-groups of participants who demonstrated relatively high and low levels of mathematical ability were selected to participate in a second level of the study. During this level, data were collected regarding the understanding of basic concepts by participants and mediation techniques used by the families, using a multiple case-study design. Findings indicated that the following characteristics were associated with relatively high mathematical ability in young deaf children: early identification of hearing loss; at least one deaf parent; and fluent exposure to sign language in the home. Additionally children with relatively high mathematical ability were found to have a better understanding of basic concepts and to come from homes in which higher quality mediation techniques were used. Homes of "more successful" children were language-rich and learning opportunities were readily available. Children with relatively low mathematical ability had less access to language within the home environment, and high-quality learning opportunities were limited.

A mixed methods study design was employed to determine what differences in knowledge of reading instruction and perceived preparedness to teach reading exist between two groups of teacher candidates enrolled in different teacher preparation programs offered at the University of Pittsburgh. Additionally, this study investigated which components of such programs - coursework, field experience, reflection, or collaboration - teacher candidates perceived as preparing them to teach reading. Data regarding teacher candidates' perceived preparedness to teach reading were collected once upon completion of their preparation program and again after obtaining full-time teaching experience in order to record changes over time. Data collection consisted of the Knowledge Inventory, Survey of Perceptions, Follow-up Survey of Perceptions and telephone interviews. Background information regarding teacher candidates was also collected. It was hypothesized that teacher candidates from the Masters of Arts in Teaching program would obtain higher scores on the Knowledge Inventory and perceive themselves as more prepared to teach reading than those enrolled in the Professional Year program, which would be attributable to their extended amount of time spent in the field. An analysis of the data revealed that few significant differences existed between teacher candidates from the two programs. Based on Knowledge Inventory scores, teacher candidates had a rudimentary knowledge of reading instruction. Undergraduate GPA, PRAXIS scores, age and gender were not factors in knowledge of reading instruction. There were no differences in knowledge of reading between teacher candidates from the two programs based on amount of time spent in the field or grade-level placement. Teacher candidates from both programs perceived themselves as being prepared to teach reading; however, their perceived level of preparedness was somewhat lower after gaining teaching experience than it was immediately upon completing their respective program. Teacher candidates from both programs perceived their coursework and field experience to be the most valuable components of their program. Despite this overall sense of readiness to teach reading, teacher candidates had specific areas of concern in which they would benefit from further instruction, including: spelling and writing instruction; differentiating instruction based on assessment results; and differentiating instruction to meet the needs of diverse learners.

The purpose of the study was to determine the nature of the historical role played by the International Reading Association (IRA) from 1900 to 2006. The methodology used in this qualitative study was based on grounded theory in which information was located, examined, coded, and recoded until themes, patterns, and categories could justifiably be formed. The themes that emerged from an analysis of historical events related to IRA, the United States, United States' education, and United States' reading instruction. The study complements an earlier study of the history of IRA conducted by Dr. Douglas K. Hartman and Lou Ann Sears in which oral histories were conducted with IRA staff, officers, and members both past and present, and document analyses were conducted of materials archived at the IRA Headquarters in Newark, Delaware. Three research questions guided this study. In what ways has the International Reading Association been able to react to the forces that have affected its goals and members? In what ways has IRA been an initiator throughout its history? What political themes were prevalent in United States' history, educational history, and reading-instruction history from 1900 to 2006 that seem to have been reflected in the way IRA promoted sound literacy practices? Three conclusions were drawn based on the analysis of the themes that emerged from the study. First, IRA intentionally reacted to internal and external forces. Second, IRA has initiated connections among and beyond its membership in the way that it structured its many groups. Finally, IRA has reacted to and been affected by themes that emerged from historical events in the United States, United States' education, and United States' reading instruction.

Reading First coaches in Pennsylvania were interviewed in order to gain a better understanding of the problems and possibilities of coaching. Thirty coaches volunteered to be part of the study. The coaches represented twelve districts across the state of Pennsylvania. Data collection consisted of an interview created by the researcher. The interview instrument asked questions in the following areas: background and preparedness, time spent on "explicit coaching" activities, such as modeling and demonstrating, factors within the organization that helped or hindered the work of the coach, what coaches perceived their responsibilities to be, and what problems and possibilities there were with the jobs they performed. Analysis of the interview data revealed that over half of the coaches did not feel prepared for the role when they first began coaching. An overemphasis on content knowledge in the professional development coaches received prior to coaching and the lack of consistency in schools of the expectations of coaches may have led to these feelings of unpreparedness. Coaches complete a myriad of tasks during a typical week. The work is seen as necessary and as requiring a long-term commitment on the part of the coach to build relationships with all staff members. Over time, the coach became an accepted part of the school culture. The way the principal embraced or did not embrace the role was instrumental in how quickly the coach was seen as valuable within the school. Experiences, both positive and negative, have been good teachers for each coach. Although coaching is a challenging position, it is one that has many rewards.

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of and potential factors associated with utilizing high-school-aged students as on-site tutors to assist elementary students in a Spanish distance education program. The study focused on the qualitative and quantitative exploration of the participants' affective attitudes toward learning Spanish, mode of instruction, high school tutors, and Spanish culture. To document the achievement, attitudes, and motivation of the elementary and high school students, a combination of quantitative and qualitative data was collected through five methods: student questionnaires, self-assessment, prochievement interview, journal entries, and final exam. The distance education foreign language program randomly divided fifth-grade classrooms into two equal groups. One-half was exposed to the high school tutors and the other half was not. Thirty-six fifth-grade elementary students participated in this study; nineteen were tutored students and seventeen were nontutored students. Three high school seniors served as tutors. The findings indicated that the presence of cross-age tutors in a distance education setting does not seem to make a difference in either attitude or achievement. Although the tutors provided useful assistance and benefits in terms of motivation and increased interest in learning a foreign language, the most important finding in this study is that learning occurred in both the tutored and nontutored Spanish distance education classroom.

This study investigated the effects of three different approaches to vocabulary instruction on students ability to learn initial meanings of new words: traditional definitions, friendly definitions, and parsing. Fourth and fifth grade students enrolled in a rural elementary school were introduced to new vocabulary terms in traditional, friendly definitions, and parsing conditions. Tasks to assess students understanding of the new terms included sentence generation, and responses to open ended questions about each term. Results indicated that across all three conditions no significant differences were found for sentence generation tasks. For open ended question tasks differences were found indicating students performed significantly better with traditional and friendly definitions than parsing. Qualitative analysis indicated that parsing was not only inadequate, but detrimental to learning new words from definitions. It was hypothesized that the design of the study may have influenced results. Implications for instruction and further research were discussed.

This study describes and analyzes the process by which teachers, support personnel, and administration developed homegrown implementation strategies that resulted in an enhanced character education program, improved student behavior, and a strengthened community of practice empowered to find its own solutions. The Review of Literature provided an historical and a theoretical background for this investigation. This researcher became a catalyst introducing participants to the action research cycle of observe, reflect, and act. Teachers observed student behavior in relation to the simple character education directives that had been grafted onto the daily announcement form, e.g. We come to school on time. School is important. Focus groups reflected upon a variety of teacher strategies, selecting three for implementation by the entire staff. Visuals, additional announcements, and student recognition brought the improvement necessary to upgrade the character education program, energized the people using it, and facilitated a change in student behavior. The results of the study were analyzed by comparing data from the January interviews to responses found in the June interviews. From principal to five-year-old kindergartener, the empowered community of practice developed a school identity by hearing Hear at Amadeus every day and following the desired behaviors that comprised the character education program. It was simple, doable. Qualitative methodology was also used to analyze the field notes. The NUD*IST N6 software program codified data pinpointing the evidence of the beneficial changes in both the character education program as well as in student behavior. A descriptive narrative told the story of how the character education program traveled through the daily life of the elementary school. Then a numerical analysis answered the six research questions. Recommendations for further study include investigation of how changes in administration, staff, especially the catalyst, and student population might affect the efficacy of the action research cycle and the character education program itself. A longitudinal study of these factors is recommended to investigate long-term impact. Research could also give voice to students perceptions of the program. The study of these questions could open new venues for a practitioner looking for solutions to the problems facing todays learning communities.